Photo: Clinton Steeds from Los Angeles, USA · CC BY 2.0Big Pine’s library is a branch of Inyo County Free Library, which lends less per resident than 88% of systems its size
Big Pine’s library is the Big Pine Branch Library, a branch of Inyo County Free Library, which serves 18,856 people and lent 35K items last year.
Big Pine’s library, in brief
The Inyo County Free Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Inyo County Free Library system records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Big Pine branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; Big Pine’s library is a branch of Inyo County Free Library, so they cover the whole system (18,856 people), not just the Big Pine branch.
What’s behind Big Pine’s civic life grade
Big Pine isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Inyo County Free Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
Volunteering in Big Pine
Big Pine is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
6.5%
6.5% of Big Pine’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.9% in the typical California town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Big Pine’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Inyo County Free Library serves 18,856 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
A year at Inyo County Free Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Inyo County Free Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
12,298 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Big Pine Branch Library, 500 S. Main St., Big Pine.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Inyo County Free Library branch.
New in Big Pine? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Big Pine cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $841K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $571K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $841K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 5,591 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Big Pine Branch Library is one branch of Inyo County Free Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 18,856 people it serves.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Big Pine
Does Big Pine have a public library?
Yes: Big Pine Branch Library, 500 S. Main St., is a branch of Inyo County Free Library, which serves 18,856 people. The branch is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Inyo County Free Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Big Pine’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Big Pine’s civic life grade?
Big Pine isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Inyo County Free Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Big Pine.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.